Tag: handicrafts

Every December since 2008, members of UNESCO’s cultural committee meet to decide which of the world’s cultural traditions will be honored for the previous year.
﻿This year, 31 traditions were recognized by UNESCO, and 14 of them are in MIR’s destinations. Read More

Two-thousand-year-old Kashgar is unlike any other place in China — brimming with intoxicating bazaars, vibrant street life, and a brilliant mosaic of cultures, flavors, and artistic traditions. With its maze-like Old Town and famous Sunday Animal Market, Kashgar still retains the exotic air and immense appeal of medieval Asia.
But change is afoot. Controversial government redevelopment projects have already drastically transformed the look and feel of the Old Town, as city blocks have been demolished and replaced with modern buildings and tourist-friendly zones. More reconstruction efforts are slated for the future, so the time to experience Kashgar's mercantile spirit of old is now, before the city changes forever.
Here are some of our favorite ways to explore this colorful and captivating Silk Road city. Read More

Born and raised in Samarkand, Abdu Samadov is full of inside information about Uzbekistan. He has studied in England and the U.S. and is fluent in English, Farsi, and Russian. Abdu guides MIR travelers throughout Central Asia and enjoys sharing his knowledge with other travelers.
Here, Abdu offers his tips for how to explore the creative and cultural traditions of the Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan’s heartland of agriculture and the arts. Read More

We caught up with MIR Tour Manager Abdu Samadov, who recently visited one of Uzbekistan’s renowned silk workshops in the Fergana Valley. While inside the studio, he captured this footage of a weaver creating a classic Uzbek silk fabric known as ikat.
Take a brief look at the intricate process behind making these brilliant Silk Road textiles in this video. Read More

For more than 20 years, five Georgian artists have been creating textiles, showcasing their own and others' textile arts and crafts, and teaching children and adults in their La Maison Bleue Craft Studio in Tbilisi.
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Are you one of those people who prefers to learn by doing, rather than by watching? You like to jump right in and get your hands into the paint, or the flour, or the dirt, to put on a hardhat and go where the action is. You can take the heat in the kitchen – in fact, you go looking for it.
As it turns out, quite a few of MIR's intrepid travelers are this type of bold and action-oriented person. And we like to keep you happy learning to do things you may have never done before.
Here’s a roundup of six fascinating and perhaps challenging hands-on experiences you can have on our small group tours. Read More

In Uzbekistan, that art is very much alive. Centers of Silk Road ceramics production sprang up in the vicinity of Gijduvan, Rishtan, Samarkand and Tashkent long ago, and are still flourishing.
Just as food varies from region to region, so do ceramics. The clay itself is different from region to region, and so are the local ingredients used for dyes to paint the plates and jars. Even more, every artist's eye sees things a little differently. Read More

Ukraine and decorated eggs: they go together like Persia and hand-woven carpets. They’re gorgeous and make great gifts, but watching local artisans create them is even more amazing.
In Ukrainian, these brilliantly-decorated eggs are called pysanky, from the verb “to write.” Designs aren't painted, but instead drawn on with melted wax using a pinpoint stylus. The symbols, motifs and chosen colors on the finished eggs have specific meanings and originally could be read as messages from different regions of the country. Read More

Russia's Golden Ring is a modern name given to the ancient towns that form an elliptical circle to the north and east of Moscow. This is where Russian art, architecture and culture began. The historic Golden Ring is celebrated for graceful old churches, famous frescoes and traditional craftsmanship.
Here are some of the crafts that made these little towns famous... Read More

Traveler Reviews

Want to know what it's like to take an independent MIR trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway? MIR traveler Jonathan Hayes fills you in on the details in an article on riding the Tran-Siberian train from Vladivostok all the way to Germany, published in the July 2012 issue of International Travel News.